How many ways can you create the so-called "Ken Burns Effect?"
Though not invented by Burns, Ken and his brother Ric certainly made this pan-and-zoom effect popular with their documentaries about American life and cities in the 19th and 20th centuries. Originally, the Burns brothers did this nimbly during production using motion control to slowly pan, zoom and rotate their cameras across photographs and documents. It’s now a mainstay of documentary filmmakers covering historical and current events alike, and doing it in post is a snap. All it takes is the right plug-in.
Among the 75-plus companies and nearly 260 products listed in our first ever "Plug-In Guide" on page 22, you’ll find several ways to create this effect, from the versatile Stagetools MovingPicture, a well-known plug for After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut and Avid, to VASST’s StillMotion for Sony Vegas and Lyric Media’s Pan Zoom Pro for Final Cut Pro. Sure, both Apple iMovie and iPhoto also now have "Ken Burns Effect" presets for the uninitiated, but the plug-ins in our list will give you more control of high-res images right on your timeline.
We confirmed a few suspicions but also learned a few things when researching this guide, which focuses on plugs for the most popular editing and compositing desktop packages. (Sorry 3D folks- the lists of plug-ins for the main animation packages are even longer, so we couldn’t include them here.) One obvious truth: This category is ruled by After Effects plug-ins. But many top plug-in suites are now available in multiple versions for other packages; if not, there’s probably a plug-in out there that lets you adapt popular AE-only plugs for the NLE or compositor of your choice, like the one eyeon offers for Digital Fusion.
Which plug-ins are the best? If popularity and overall coolness are any measure of quality, and they usually are, then the AE plug-ins from Trapcode, a small Swedish company founded in 2001 by Peder Norrby, are off the charts. Ask anyone who’s recently used Particular, 3D Stroke or Shine for a promo, show open, music video, movie trailer or any other project and you’ll instantly feel the love. We’ve featured tutorials on Particular and 3D Stroke in previous issues for this very reason. Trapcode plug-ins also support 16-bit color, as do GenArts Sapphire plug-ins and The Foundry’s Tinderbox 4 (see tutorials on both in the "Guide"). Thus, applying layers of effects to HD footage becomes a no-brainer.
Even if you are newer to all this, many of the suites mentioned in the guide, including those from Trapcode, come with plenty of effects presets to get you started. Most also add in UI tools that let you customize filters and effects to your heart’s content. Whatever you do, resist the temptation to overuse your favorite effects. Plug-ins can impart magic, but sometimes, subtlety is a virtue. The coolest plugs are worthless if used with a heavy hand. Now go make some magic.
Beth Marchant, Editor-in-Chief
bmarchant@accessintel.com